Automatic gas-lighter and safety cut-off device



P. P. CATALANO. AUTOMATIC GAS LIGHTER AND SAFETY CUT-OFF DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED AUG.I4, I919.

Patented uly 27, 1920.

BEST AVAlLABLE COPY PETER PANIPENTO CATA-LANO, F DuNKIRK. NEW.YORK.

AUTOMATIC GAS LIGHTER AND s'AFErY CUT-OFF DEVICE.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented July 27,.192() App1icati0n filed August 14, 1919. Serial No. 317,577.

' T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that'I,l 'n'rnn' P. CATAIiANo,

a citizen of the United States, residing at Dunkirk, in the county of Chautauqua and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Automatic Gas-Lighters and Safety Cut-O'fi' Devices, of which the following is a'speciti cationf This invention relates to combined automatic gas lighters and safety cut-off devices, and has for'one of its objects to prof vide an attachment for a gas burner inand an'automatically operated safety cut-off which becomes operative in event of the gas pressure being reduced to a su'fiicient' extent to extinguish the light. fAnot'her object of the invention is to produce a device including a' sparker and an automatic cutoff operative by the same movement which opens the gas supply valve.

With these and'other objects in view, the

invention consists in certain novel features of construction, as hereinafter shown and described and then specifically pointed out in the claims; and inthe drawings illustrative or the preferred embodiment of the invention Figure 1 is a vertical sectional elevation of the improved device in operative position, or with the gas turned on. I

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the part shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a portion of the improved apparatus,partly in section, to illustrate the construction and operation of the safety cut-off.

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 1 illustrating the parts in closed and locked position'.

The improved device includes a casing or shell 10 having a burner tip 11 at one end. The intake or gas supply pipe is represented at 12 and is coupled by an elbow 1 3 and a nipple 14 to the lower end of the shell 10. The elbow 13 is extended upwardly and provided with a valve seat to receive a plug valve 15 with passages 16 in the body of the elbow, the valve 15 constituting the device for controlling the flow of gas from the intake to the burner tip. The shell 10 is reduced'toward the nipple engaging portion, and within the reduced portion is located a sleeve 17 closed at one end except for a gas passage 18.- -The nipple 14 is internally threaded, and located within the.

nipple is another sleeve 19 closed at the f The valve 22" is'adapted' tobe operated wholly by the gas pressure,"and when the A pressure falls below a predetermined point 7 the ball valve drops and automatically cuts 7 off the flow until the pressure is restored, as" cludin'g' a sparker device, electrically coa hereafter more fully explained. trolled, to :oeperate with pilot device, Located within the reduced portion of the shell 10 is a weight 24 in constant engage- Y ment with the valve 22' andoperating to.

force the latterupon its seat. A stem 25 rises from the weight member 24'a11d' extends through the passage 18, and is pro- The vided at its upper end with a laterally directed enlargement or head 26. Attachedto the stem 2 5 and spaced from the enlargement '26 isanother enlargement 27, and loosely engaging the stem 25 between the enlargements 26 27 is a plate 28, the latter resting by. one end upon the shoulder at the juncture of the body portion of the shell 10 and its reduced lower portion. The stem 25. and its enlargements 26-27 are movable vertically through the plate 28. Mounted for rotation through the shell 10 is a shaft 29, and connected to the'shaft within the casing is an arm 30 having an offset lower end 31 forked to engage around the stem 25 between the enlargement 26 and the plate 28. Connected to the shaft 29 intermediate its ends externally of the shell 10, is a rod 32 carrying a weight 33 at its longer end. The-shorter end of the rod 32 terminates in an eye 34 to receive a pull chain 35. By this arrangement the weight 33 operates to rotate the shaft 29 and move the forked end 31 of the arm 30 beneath the enlargement 26 and against the plate 28 and holds the latter'yieldably in downward position, or resting upon the shoulder of the shelllO. The downward movement of the plate 28 by the action of the arm 30 causes the enlargement 27 to force the weight 24 against the valve 22 and thus locks the latter in closed position.

Connected intermediate its ends to the stem of the plug valve 15 is an arm 36 having a pull chain 37 connected thereto at one end and a pull chain 38 connected thereto at the other end. The pull chain 35 of the theprincipal member of the pilot burner of the device.

Connected to the member 41, preferably at its bend, isa hanger 44 insulatedfrom the .member' 41. in any suitable manner. Pivoted at 45 in the hanger 44 is a toothed disk 46. Mounted to swing upon thepiv'ot 45 is a lever arm 47 carr' in a s rin 'c nb D trolled pawl 48 inengagement with the teeth of the disk 46. A spring 49 ,is connected to hold the lever 47 yieldably in its upper' po sition. A pull chain 50 is connected atone".- end to the lever arm 47 and at the other end 'at 51 to the pull chain, as shown in Fig, Extending fi om the hanger 44 is a pin having a conductor wire 53 engaged. with the terminal 54 of the conductorwire extending into the path of the teeth of the disk 46. Leading from the pivot 45 of the hanger44 is another conductor wire 55, the conductor wires 53-55 being coupledto the; poles of a source of electric energ' ,for in stance a battery indicated at 5,6. g member 47 is so arranged that it holds the disk 46.normally with its teeth out of contact with theterminal 54 of the conductor 53, thus maintaining the electric circuit normally broken. fThe device just described provides a simple and efficient sparking device whereby an electric spark is produced when the lever 47 is moved downwardly through the influence of the pull member 50 to cause the adjacent tooth of the disk 46 to contact with the point 54. The sparker device, it will be noted, is located in close proximity to the pilot member 41 and the orifices 43 thereof. 1

When the plug valve 15 is closed as in Fig. 4, and the pressure of gas removed from the devices vin advance of the plug valve, the weight 24 will descend and close the valve 22 and likewise release the arm 30 and permit the weight 33 to move the arm 30 downward and engage the forked terminal 31 against the plate 28, and thus lock the valve 22 in closed position. When the pull member 37 is operated to open the plug valve 15 the pull member 35 is operated si multaneously therewith and depresses the arm at its shorter end and withdraws the locking member 30-31 from the member 28 and releases the valve 22. The pressure of the gas elevates the valve 22 against the pressure of the weight 24 and simultaneously elevates the stem 25 and causes the enlarge- BEST AVAILABLE COFW ment 27 to elevate the plate 28 against the forked portion 41 of the arm 30 and holds the latter in open position, and this position will be maintained as long as the pressure of the gas continues. At-thesame time that the pull member 37 is operated to open the plug valve .15 the sparker device is'glikewise operated by the pull member 50 and the gas escaping through the-orifices 43 and within the pilot member'4l areignited and ignite,

the gas as-it passes through the orifices'42 of the 'tipr The downward movement of the, arm 47 is only for a moment as the spring 49 operates to return the arm to its upward position and again breaks the circuit between the disks 46 and the point 54.

If the. burnerll is associated with a mantle the flame fromthe pilot member will ignite the gas which flows 'through the mantle or the pilot member may be continued with its outletadjacent to or'above the upper end of 'the'mantle to ignite the latter fromabove.

The improved device is' simple in con-- struction, can be inexpensively manufactured and adapted without material structural change. I i

It sometimes happens that the pressure ofgas in thesupply' pipes is reduced below the normal, to an extent suflicient to extingui sh thelflames at the burner tips, and then ii the supply valves are not closed the pres- .he" lever.

sure when restoredwill escape into the room.

d ith' the improved device applied t'o' 'the' burner in event of the 7 pressure being thus reduced, the weight operated lever, 30 automatically operates to 1'se the valve 22 and looks it in closed position, andefl'ectw ailyprevents the escape of the gas even'if the plug valve 15 is left open. v

Thus all danger from the escape of the in event of an interruption of the flow a: the accidental decrease of pressure isobviated. v

iVhen the pressure of the gas becomes high enough .to be detrimental to the mantle attached to the burner, the pressure actuated valve-22 elevates the vglobular member, 24 1i causes the same to partly close the open- 18 whereby the supply of gas to the mantle is not permitted to exceed a predetermined pressure.

Having thus described the invention, what claimed as new is:

1. A valve including a vertical easing having upper and lower vertically alined valve seats, a pressure actuated valve forthe lower valve seat, and a weighted valve arranged directly beneath said upper valve seat and adapted to engage the same as the pressure within the casing increases, said weighted valve being adapted to engagesaid pressure actuated valve for seating the same as the pressure decreases.

2. A valve including a vertical casing having upper and lower vertically alined valve seats, a pressure actuated globular valve for the lower seat, a weighted .globular valve arranged directly beneath said upper valve seat and adapted to engage the same as the pressure within the casing increases, said weighted globular valve being in contact with the globular valve of the lower seat, a manually operable valve for the casing, and means for locking the first named globular valve in a seated position when the pressure within the casing is decreased.

3. In a device of the class described, a body provided with a controlling valve and with an intake at one end and a burner at the other end, said body having an intermediate valve seat between the controlling valve and the burner, a valve adapted to be seated on the intermediate valve seat, a weight bearing upon said intermediate valve, a stem extending from said weight and having lateral enlargements in spaced relation, a plate movable on said stem between said enlargements, a shaft extending through said body, an arm carried by said shaft and having an offset adapted when the shaft is in one position to engage between the plate BEST AVAILABLE coexand one of the enlargements and to be engaged by-the plate and held in withdrawn position when the shaft is in another position, and means whereby the operation of opening the controlling valve likewise operates the shaft and the arm connected therewith.

4. In a device of the class described, the

combination with a burner having a burner tip at one end, a manually operable valve .for the burner, an elongated pilot burner extending from said first named burner and terminating adjacent said tip, a hanger secured to said pilot burner, a ratchet wheel rotatably carried by said hanger, a sparking device arranged adjacent the teeth of 

